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I'm considering taking the plunge into the world of Mac after 20+ years of PC ownership, I've just had enough of having to defrag and reformat every year or so and Windows Vista was the final nail in the coffin. Plus, I'd like an all in one to cut down on cable clutter and most of the PCs I've found are touch screens as well which doesn't interest me

We've currently got an iPad and iPod Touch in the house so might as well go the whole hog. Anyway, I've got a few questions - I've had a quick search before asking and couldn't see too much on them at a glance so bear with me

1. I know the specs on the Mac are lower than an equivalent priced PC, does that result in the OS being less of a resource hog so that performance is similar to a PC?

2. I'm looking at just the bog standard 21" iMac with the intention of doing some lightweight photo editing and a bit of gaming when I can find Mac games. Will the bottom of the range iMac be sufficient or is it worth pushing the boat and moving up the range a bit - I don't want the larger screen so I'm guessing there's not much I can do to it.

3. Stupid question alert: none of my other iDevices support Flash because Steve Jobs think it's the devil, but does Safari on the iMac play Flash or is it necessary to use FF or Chrome?

4. I see there's a new OS about to be launched, is it worth waiting to buy a mac until then or just get it and upgrade it myself especially as it won't cost anything. is upgrading an easy process or is it somewhat akin to trying to do it with Windows?

5. Is iTunes as clunky a program in Mac format as it is in Windows? I only ask because it's a real resource hog on our PC at the moment and given it's the only real way to manage our iDevices I'd hope it would work a bit better

One more.......how long can I expect it take to get my head round an iMac. I'm computer literate. I'm not expecting to pick it up overnight, but is a couple of weeks reasonable?

Thanks for having a look at these and I'm sorry if these have been asked before, but it's quite a big outlay on something that I might not get along with so I'm just covering myself.

I'll touch on as many as I can as best as I can. Stick around for varying replies to get a well-rounded, well-informed collection of data...

1. Mac OS X is so efficient that a Mac can have a lesser processor and less RAM and run just as well (usually better) as a higher spec'd Windows machine. It's in the architecture that Mac OS X is built on - Linux.

2. The standard 21" iMac should be sufficient for the photo editing. Gaming on a Mac still isn't up to snuff if you're a hard-core gamer. Light gaming, sure. There are more and more Mac compatible games. Look at Steam and look in the Mac App Store (native app comes with new Macs). You can save yourself some $$ if you get a refurbished iMac. These are good-as-new (you can't tell the difference) and well worth it, especially for your first Mac. If you're in the U.S., look here - iMac 21.5" - Apple Store (U.S.)

3.Flash works on Safari just as it does on other full desktop/notebook web browsers. Not the same as iOS web browsing. Flash can be a resource hog and I suggest using Click to Flash to block flash from automatically showing up. You will see a grey box with the word "Flash" in the center. If it's something you actually want to view, just click on it once to activate.

4. Assuming the "new OS about to be launched" you're referring to is Lion, then you should know it won't be free to upgrade if you buy a Mac now. It is $30 USD. A great price for all the new features. Mac OS upgrades are so simple, easy and smooth. Nothing like going from XP to Vista or 7. If you want/need a Mac now, get it now. Lion is due out soon.

5. iTunes isn't bad, in my opinion - especially compared to iTunes on Windows. But others on here feel differently and don't like it much. Once iOS 5 comes out, you won't really need it for syncing anyways so you might look at alternative music players for the Mac. Up to you.

Adjusting to a new OS depends on you. Could take days, weeks, months. Just depends. Look at Apple - Support - Switch 101 and be sure to post any questions you have on these forums.

64GB iPhone 6, 64GB iPad Air 2.

Reminder: Please include your Mac's specs. This will make it much easier for the other members to assist you.

1. I know the specs on the Mac are lower than an equivalent priced PC, does that result in the OS being less of a resource hog so that performance is similar to a PC?

Better than a similar PC.

2. I'm looking at just the bog standard 21" iMac with the intention of doing some lightweight photo editing and a bit of gaming when I can find Mac games. Will the bottom of the range iMac be sufficient or is it worth pushing the boat and moving up the range a bit - I don't want the larger screen so I'm guessing there's not much I can do to it.

Should be fine. Moving up the range will get you a bit more future-proofing.

3. Stupid question alert: none of my other iDevices support Flash because Steve Jobs think it's the devil, but does Safari on the iMac play Flash or is it necessary to use FF or Chrome?

Steve doesn't think Flash is the devil -- but he DOES think (and he's quite correct) that Flash is a bloated, poorly-programmed, resource-sucking security nightmare. Rather like Windows.

Anyway, Macs run Flash fine (including Safari). Flash for mobile devices proves Steve's point rather nicely (even two YEARS later) -- those phones and tablets that DO claim to support Flash find it to be slow, battery-sucking and generally a very poor experience compared to a desktop.

Steve actually said in his open letter "Thoughts on Flash" (every word of which has proven even more true than when he wrote it) that if Adobe could produce an efficient, clean-running, secure Flash for mobile devices, Apple would be happy to consider including it. Hasn't happened yet.

4. I see there's a new OS about to be launched, is it worth waiting to buy a mac until then or just get it and upgrade it myself especially as it won't cost anything. is upgrading an easy process or is it somewhat akin to trying to do it with Windows?

Doesn't matter, really. As you point out, it's cheap. Upgrading is generally an easy process BUT as a precaution it is just common sense to have a working backup just in case something goes wrong.

5. Is iTunes as clunky a program in Mac format as it is in Windows?

No. It's pretty awesome.

One more.......how long can I expect it take to get my head round an iMac. I'm computer literate. I'm not expecting to pick it up overnight, but is a couple of weeks reasonable?

Depends entirely on your willingness to let go of the bad habits you picked up in PC land. The Mac is a very "zen" computer and operating system, but for some people this requires a real "attitude adjustment" before they get it.

4. Assuming the "new OS about to be launched" you're referring to is Lion, then you should know it won't be free to upgrade if you buy a Mac now. It is $30 USD. A great price for all the new features. Mac OS upgrades are so simple, easy and smooth. Nothing like going from XP to Vista or 7. If you want/need a Mac now, get it now. Lion is due out soon.

Good post and helpful, but it was stated at WWDC that if you bought a Mac after the announcement, you would be eligible for a free upgrade to Lion.

Thanks for the quick responses guys, I read your stickied thread already chas which was most helpful.

I was referring to the Snow Leopard to Lion upgrade and can confirm I've found a thing on the Apple store site showing a free upgrade for anyone buying their iMac after the 6th of June until the release of Lion sometime this month. That was on the UK site though, so I don't know if it will be the same in the US.

Definitely food for thought and I'm swaying well towards the Apple side. I'm sure I'll be back with a few more questions at some point and then a load more when I get myself set up

1. Mac OS X is so efficient that a Mac can have a lesser processor and less RAM and run just as well (usually better) as a higher spec'd Windows machine. It's in the architecture that Mac OS X is built on - Linux.

It is actually based off BSD (Berkeley Software Distribution), which is a flavor of UNIX, not Linux. Similar, yes, but not the same and should not be used synonymously.

However, the use of an OS that requires less of the hardware than the average apps being run is awesome. Having switched a few months ago, this was a nice change of pace.

Well, I took the plunge a little earlier than expected and am now the proud owner of a new 21.5" iMac and so far it's been all good. Admittedly, I've only had an hour with it before I had to go to work, but I'm a happy camper.

I'm sure there'll be several questions to come over the next few weeks, but the only one for now is how do I make windows full screen. Safari and iTunes only open in half screen windows and I can't see anything in the view menu to make them full screen. I'm sure I'm missing something obvious, but any help would be appreciated.

1. Mac apps don't go full screen yet. There's a reason for that, but it will be moot tomorrow so I'm not going to go into it. To ENLARGE a Mac app's window, grab the lower right corner of the window and drag (again this could be moot tomorrow).

Well as an update, I'm still happy after nearly two weeks. Working a few things out still, but a good Google answers most of them so it's all good.

Totally bought into the world of Mac now although it has been expensive. The wife's laptop packed up as well last week, so she's now the proud owner of a 13" Macbook Air and we've got ourselves a Time Capsule as well.

All I need now is another iPhone as my Nokia doesn't sync up anymore since iSync went the way of the Snow Leopard